Cedric Benson has had an odd career in the NFL so far, to say the least. The Chicago Bears took him with the number 4 pick in the 2005 draft, and in return they got 1593 yards and 10 touchdowns in 3 seasons. Compare that to his performance in Cincinnati last season, where Benson ran for 1251 yards and 6 touchdowns. Whatever performances Cedric has had on the field have been overshadowed by his ability to drink off it. Benson has shown his love of the sauce throughout his career, including an arrest in 2008 for boating under the influence, and another arrest that year for DUI. Benson’s boozing has got him another bind, as he was arrested earlier today for assault in Austin, Texas.

But that doesn’t mean it came without any incidents.

Bengals running back Cedric Benson has been arrested in Austin, Texas for an assault that allegedly occurred on May 30, according to Tom Plohetski of Statesman.com. He allegedly punched a bar employee in the face at Annie’s West.

You can’t get wasted and beat someone up in Texas? Texas authorities should probably clarify their stance on the position, because Vince Young was confused, too. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the incident occurred quite some time ago, and Benson “forgot” to report it to the NFL. Roger Goodell may have to send him to bed, without dessert.

And while the NFL and the Bengals necessarily know about the arrest, given the widespread publicity it has received, it remains to be seen whether the league and/or the team knew about the incident that gave rise to Benson’s cruise in the back of a cruiser.

The Personal Conduct Policy contains clear language regarding the obligations of a player who potentially commits a violation: “The League must be advised promptly of any incident that may be a violation of this policy, and particularly when any conduct results in an arrest or other criminal charge. Players and club employees must report any such incident to the club, which must then report it to NFL Security at (800) NFL-XXXX. Failure to report an incident will constitute conduct detrimental and will be taken into consideration in making disciplinary determination under this policy. Clubs are also required to report incidents that come to their attention.”

The two questions as to Benson become, first, whether he reported the incident to the Bengals and, second, whether the Bengals reported the incident to the NFL. –PFT

All of the hullaballoo comes while Benson is trying to get a new contract from the Bengals. That’s not going to happen. The Bengals need more publicity about their players doing drugs and getting into fights like the sixth grade version of me needs an erection during math class.

Join The Discussion

You’re probably right, but I do like that picture of him with the Sun Chips and all the white women in the back.

06.29.10 at 3:08 pm

DimpieChimplins

Why is he hanging out with Whoopi Goldberg?

06.29.10 at 3:28 pm

Jmac

Now it’s official: Cedric Benson is a Bengal. Poor guy must’ve been embarrassed that he didn’t commit one felony during his first year as a Bengal. The locker will respect him now

07.06.10 at 12:13 am

DocGSpot

If you knew anything about the circumstances behind his ALLEGED assault, you’d know that he got punched first by some redneck who didn’t like all the white women in Annie’s West fawning over Ced. “Strange fruit hang from [Texas] trees.” He’s not going to see any suspension or fine. The club owners in Austin are the ones who ought to be raked over the media’s hottest coals, not Ced.